Read before you wire.
Written for buyers who send real money to dealers they have not met, and for dealers who want the trade explained plainly to their customers. Everything here is editorial, dated and free to read.
What the paperwork should say, what disclosure looks like and where the risk actually sits — stone by stone.
All guides →Gemstones A–ZPer-stone pages: treatments to expect, certificates that carry weight and the register dealers admitted for each.
Browse stones →OriginsDeposit-by-deposit notes on what origin means for price and how laboratories determine it.
GV Origins →GlossaryThe vocabulary of the coloured-stone trade, defined the way laboratories and dealers actually use it.
Open the glossary →Trade deskConfirmed exhibition dates, fair preparation and verification resources.
Exhibition calendar →Market IndexPrice-per-carat ranges by stone, origin, treatment and size — in preparation.
Early access →Latest guides
How to read a lab report
A laboratory report is the closest thing the coloured stone trade has to a common language, and it is routinely misread.
Heat treatment in sapphire, and what disclosure should say
Most sapphire on the market has been heated.
Emerald oiling grades, explained
Nearly every emerald reaches the market with surface-reaching fissures, and nearly every one has had those fissures filled.
Ruby origin: Burma and Mozambique
Two names anchor the modern ruby market.
Questions to ask a dealer before wiring money
The loose stone trade still runs on bank wires between people who have often never met.
How insured shipping of loose stones works
A fine loose stone crosses borders in a parcel the size of a paperback, and it does so safely thousands of times a week.